Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 01

24 / Canadian Government Executive // January/February 2018 The Interview THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA BY GEORGE ROSS An Interview with ALEX BENAY ON A RECENT VISIT TO OTTAWA, CGE EDITOR IN CHIEF GEORGE ROSS SAT DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA’S CIO ALEX BENAY TO DISCUSS HIS MANDATE AND VISION FOR A MORE OPEN AND DIGITALLY ENABLED GOVERNMENT. Q: Alex, let’s begin by giving our readers some background on you, and more importantly, tell us why you have taken on perhaps one of the most challenging roles in the Public Sector today? I worked in the Federal Government for about nine years - a mixture of trade and international development work, and some work at Library and Archives Canada. I was pretty lucky, moved up fairly quickly, and was in the right place at the right time, under the right leadership and mentorship.